Chapter 35: Spying and Traps (Still Semi-Hiatus) - Harvesting Skills and Cultivating - [a LitRPG Cultivation Story] [Has returned!]Chapter 35:
Pan Song, Lin, Jianfeng, and I left Everlake City before noon. Unsurprisingly, Sun Yun had not been allowed to come along, and I fully expected she would have a much harder time sneaking out this time. That left the four of us to travel on foot to the north.
However, despite not having to worry about Sun Yun following us, we did our best to avoid notice and any other followers. Qian Zhi couldn't afford to send enough men to watch all the ancient sites nearby—since apparently there were a lot of them, as the minor sites were not worth the hassle for those who could breach them. What he could easily do, however, was have people watch the gates to the city instead.
Which was why we left through the southern gate, all wearing rather nondescript and bland clothing. We even wore large bamboo hats to help hide our features more. This was especially important for Pan Song and I. Him because of the ink still staining his face. Me because of my short hair, which was an oddity compared to most other people's long hair.
We traveled south for a bit before leaving the road and circling around to the north. All the while, we looked out for any signs that we were being followed. Time-consuming and annoying, but better than getting into a fight with anyone Qian Zhi might send after us, including himself.
He was still an important Young Master of one of the top three clans in the city. Even with the troubles in the south, he could bring to bear an incredibly dangerous force on us if given the chance. So it was best not to give him the opportunity, especially since the Qian Clan aren't the only ones being kept busy because of the spirit beasts.
The Alchemist Guards under the command of Sun Xia's master were also recruited to help with the spirit beasts, leaving her unable to send anyone else to come help. Not without weakening her position in the city. Given the fact that we were unlikely to be caught with just some basic precautions, and the trial we were trying to prepare for wasn't even life or death, I couldn't blame the lack of priority on us.
Still, because of those precautions we had to take, it took us well into the afternoon before we were close to our destination. So much so, that we might have to camp out for the evening to avoid traveling on the open road at night, depending on how long it took Pan Song to break into the ruins. Though, that wasn't as much of an issue for this trip as it was for our trip to the Great Southern Forest.
The Amberwood was dangerous. But it was much more manageable than the Great Southern Forest at night. Especially with Pan Song with us. With his mastery of formations, it would be a lot easier to keep safe and hidden overnight in the wilderness here if we had to.
"So, how much further away are we?" I asked once we'd been traveling in the Amberwood for more than an hour. We'd entered the forest after having traveled north for hours on end, leaving us much farther north than the bandit mine had been.
"Given our speed, we should be nearing the site soon," Jianfeng said as he led from the front. "We'll know we are close when we see a small stream leading to a minor waterfall."
"Alright," I said, doing my best to watch my surroundings while I also played with my newest Skill.
Qi Devouring Foxfire (Active) (C Rank): Create and control Foxfire. Foxfire is part illusion and part reality, unique to every being able to create it. It can burn or not based on the desires of its creator. When it burns fuel, it can replenish itself and even grow. This particular kind of foxfire can also absorb Qi, burning it to increase its own power or channel it back directly to an extra temporary Qi reserve of its creator.
Cost: 5 QiUpkeep: 1 Qi per hourI'd taken the Skill before we left, and I started messing around with it once we were sure we weren't being followed. I hadn't done much with its new abilities just yet, as there weren't any targets for me to drain. But I thought it was good practice to control the flames while also traveling and looking out for danger.
I had four balls of foxfire floating around me in simple patterns. That seemed to be my limit if I wanted to be able to focus on other things at the same time. Each ball of flame was the same size, and unlike before, even in the shade of the forest canopy, they were hard to see. That was something else I realized I could change after messing around with the Skill for a while.
Aside from making them not burn things, I could make my flames dim. It didn't affect how much Qi each ball of flame had, but made them harder to notice. At first, I thought it might be an effect of my Skill consolidation, but on more thought, I thought it was a feature of Foxfire in general.
Spirit foxes were known for their foxfire and their illusions. So, given the description of the Skill, perhaps this ability had to do with Foxfire's semi-illusionary nature. I wasn't quite sure about that, but it seemed plausible. Especially considering how unique Foxfire seemed to be.
After taking the consolidation, I of course took the time to see if the new Skill could be combined with any other. Given the base foxfire's Skills ability to combine with anything, I couldn't help but hope that perhaps it could get more and more extra abilities if I fed other Skills to it. That would have been amazing for giving me free slots.
Unfortunately, while Foxfire was very unique with lots of options—something I still wasn't sure if it was because it was C-Rank or something else—it wasn't that amazing. Qi Devouring Foxfire could be combined with all other Skills. However, the end product was the same as combining Foxfire with the other Skills as far as I could tell. I could swap out what one extra feature I wanted to give Foxfire, but that was it.
A bit disappointing, but understandable. The alternative would have been too overpowered.
And even without being able to do that, my new Skill was already pretty amazing. With the ability to make the flames less noticeable, it seemed quite possible that I could sneak my flames onto people in the midst of combat. That could allow me to drain my opponents while restoring my own Qi reserves at the same time without them realizing it.
A very powerful tactic and something I was eager to test out if true.
Which made the fact that we hadn't encountered any actual spirit beast since entering the Amberwood a bit disappointing. An hour into the Great Southern Forest, I would have already encountered several. The Amberwood really was much more peaceful, with its normal and not freakish trees, and majority rank 0 beasts and normal animals.
I knew from experience that it could get dangerous deeper in. But the bandit mine had been much farther from the edges of the forest than an hour's walk.
"Hold on," Jianfeng called out after another couple of minutes of walking. He held up a hand, and the rest of us remained quiet as we looked around. I didn't see any signs of danger around us.
"Look there," Jianfeng said after another moment and pointed off ahead of us. The rest of us moved closer to see what he'd seen.
"There was a battle ahead," he said, pointing through the trees and into the far distance.
I squinted, my enhanced eyes just barely enough for me to see what might have been a smashed-up tree.
"Let's check it out," Lin said, unslinging her war club from her shoulders. Then the four of us headed towards the potential battle site. It could have been the result of a clash between two spirit beasts. But it was better to be safe than sorry.
I followed second after Jianfeng, while Pan Song stayed behind me, and Lin held up the rear. That was the formation we naturally fell into while traveling through the forest. Jianfeng as vanguard with me as support and Lin as rearguard.
Pan Song was left in the middle of the formation, as his formations—even the battle ones—took a moment to set up. He knew some martial arts as well, but he was far less confident about that than his mastery of formations.
"This is recent," Jianfeng said when we reached the battle site and took it all in.
Animals or minor spirit beasts scattered as we approached. They'd been munching on the slain spirit beasts but didn't dare to stick around with us around. The slain beasts were two bears, each with their heads chopped off cleanly.
So it was likely done by people.
"What are the chances it is a coincidence?" I asked the group as I scanned around for threats. My foxfire balls continued to rotate slowly around me.
"It's possible," Jianfeng hedged with his hand still resting on the hilt of his sword. "Could just be other hunters nearby. The cores were taken so there's that."
"Then do we just keep going," I asked as an idea came to me, "or should I go scout ahead? You know, underground. I think I hear the streams, so we should be close by."
"Underground?" Pan Song asked from beside me.
"I'll show you in a second," I said, grinning. It was a pretty cool ability I had, and I liked seeing people's reactions when I first used it. Well, people who I was friends with and not enemies.
"Scouting would be best," Jianfeng said, nodding.
"Don't get yourself killed," Lin said, patting me on the back.
I just scoffed at that and turned to look at Pan Song. Then I activated Discreet Earth Wader and sank into the ground. I might have used a bit more Qi than necessary to make sure it was quick like I just fell into water. The look of utter surprise on Pan Song's inked face was worth the little expenditure.
After that, I started swimming through the ground, staying close to the surface as I headed to where I heard the stream. When I found it, feeling the absence of earth and the rhythmic flow of water above, I swam around in a circle to see if anything was nearby. When I didn't find anything, I moved close to a cluster of small roots, likely some plants, and resurfaced slowly.
Moving slowly and doing my best to avoid touching the plant I was hiding under, I managed to exit the ground without causing any noise. I wasn't sure if the stealth aspect of the Skill helped with that, but at the very least it didn't hurt it.
I was hidden under a particularly bushy plant near the edges of the stream. Looking around, I didn't see the signs of the ruins yet, but downstream, I could hear what was likely the waterfall. So I sunk back into the earth and followed the stream properly.
I found the waterfall soon after and followed it down a small drop. Then I started swimming around in a circle from there, trying to see if there was anything nearby. There didn't seem to be anyth—
My swimming was interrupted as my hand slapped into something hard. Because of my momentum, I was only barely able to stop myself from slamming my face into it as well. Still being underground, with fluid like dirt around me, I couldn't see what had stopped me at all. My Earth Sense was also not getting anything from it.
It took me longer than I'd like to admit to realize what it was. It must have been the ruins. They were protected by all sorts of restrictive formations, so it would make sense that it would be able to stop me too. The ancient empire that the ruins belonged to was supposed to be somehow even more powerful than any empire of the modern day. It would have been odd if they overlooked such a simple security vulnerability.
With that realization, I pushed away from the restriction, in case it could do something else besides just blocking me. Then I swam around the void in my senses that I missed earlier due to my speed.
I was halfway done circling the ruins when I felt something else in my Earth Sense. Something from above and rather familiar. Footsteps.
The moment I noticed it, I slowed my swimming and descended a bit to put more distance between me and them. Just in case they had any extra senses. As I did, I focused more on the footsteps to see what I could discern about them.
It took a bit of time because they weren't moving much. But, eventually, I could tell that the footsteps were from something on two legs. Likely a person, and they were moving back and forth. And from some subtle shifting and the feeling of Qi, there were three more people with them, but they weren't moving around as much.
Two of the people were early Qi-gatherers. One seemed a bit weak, but the other felt stronger. Perhaps close to reaching Mid Qi-Gathering. Though I wasn't good enough with my Earth Sense to determine how close. The other two people, however, were already at Mid Qi-Gathering. Not good if these weren't just random hunters and instead affiliated with the Qian Clan.
I hesitated once I realized this. Should I head back and let everyone know what I found? I thought about it for another moment before I started swimming around again. I wanted to find some plants or something else to pop out behind. It would be better to find out just who they were.
Eventually, I found a spot that should have been out of sight of the people I felt. Then I did one more check around to make sure there wasn't anyone else nearby that could spot me. Finally, after all that, I rose from the ground again.
I appeared behind a big tree and some dense bushes. Immediately, I could hear a conversation in the distance.
"How much longer will this take?" An annoyed voice asked. It seemed familiar… I couldn't quite place it, but I didn't like how they sounded.
"Only a couple more minutes," A weaselly voice said, worry clear in its tone. "This is complex work, sir. Interweaving a trap into such ancient and complex formations is no simple task. To create a treasure that can allow such an unworthy one such as myself to do so in his stead even more so. Truly Master Zhang Ru is a true expert at his craft."
A trap? What the hell? I had a sinking feeling as to just who these people were.
"Must you speak like that?" the familiar voice asked. Too familiar. I started to carefully and quietly move forward, just close enough to hopefully see past the tree and glimpse the people speaking. "It's tiring. And there is only us here."
I froze when I finally saw the owner of the familiar voice. Damn it. It was that piece of shit Yin Tai. This wasn't good. I glared at the man for a moment as I considered what to do. But then I remembered the advice Gou Shi had given to me when I'd been practicing sneaking around in the training yards.
I looked away quickly, keeping the Qian Clan goons in my peripheral vision only. People can feel you staring at them. I wasn't sure if that was true back home, but it was definitely here. And it was best not to focus too hard on people you were observing, lest they notice. Not unless you were much better at stealthy techniques.
Thankfully, my previous staring hadn't seemed to alert them, and they continued speaking without reacting to me.
"I don't know what you mean, sir," the weaselly voice guy said, sounding scared. He looked to be a short older bald man with a very long but thin mustache. "This is the only way I know how to talk."
Yin Tai just scoffed at that and crossed his arms. "You are simply infuriating."
The bald man bowed at that and started to apologize. But that just seemed to piss Yin Tai off more, and he stomped off to two other men nearby. They were sat on a couple of pieces of rubble that might have been a part of the ruins in the past.
I couldn't help but frown at that interaction. Just what was all that about?
"Why are we even bothering with this?" Yin Tai asked, sounding petulant. Like an angry toddler. Though perhaps that was just my bias showing. "So much work just to get rid of that bumpkin and discredit him. This is the third ruin we've been to today. Do we really care that much about that idiot Qian Zhi?"
Wait, what? Wasn't Qian Zhi their boss?
"Careful," one of the men said. He looked to be middle-aged and had a relaxed look about him. Still, something about him creeped me out. "You should learn from your seniors." He gestured at the bald man, who was still fretting with something in his hands as he faced the direction of the ruins. "If you get too used to speaking freely, then you might say something wrong at the inopportune time."
His senior? Something told me they weren't just talking about age. And that last part about speaking freely… Was that why Yin Tai was so annoyed? Was the bald man putting on a false front instead of talking like he normally would?
Yin Tai sighed at that but nodded. "Fine. Still, my question remains. I thought that I wou—"
"You will," the middle-aged man said, cutting Yin Tai off. "But that doesn't mean we shouldn't make as much use of our resources while we can. The more influence Qian Zhi has to expend, the more benefit he will be until he is no longer of use."
"Very well," Yin Tai said as he moved to sit on a free bit of rubble. "At least it won't be for much longer…" He slumped and let out a sigh as he looked up in the air. He stayed like that for a moment before he turned back to the older man. "So, about the coming plan… Do we really have to kill her? It seems like such a waste. Given her talents… Wouldn't it be better to use that technique on her? It would add another powerful t—"
Yin Tai was cut off by a raised hand from the middle-aged man. Annoying, as I would have liked to know just who they were planning on killing. Anyone these assholes wanted dead, I would probably want to keep alive.
"You should not underestimate that girl," the middle-aged man said, "Even with all our preparations, it's possible she will be too much for you to handle. Trying to take her alive will only end with you dead and the plan a failure."
Yin Tai scowled at that. "That's only because you won't allow us to take more men. What's the point? We have a way in. She won't be expecting us. Why not overwhelm her with numbers?"
"Because our resources are finite," the middle-aged man said, a frown on his face. "And the more people you bring, the greater the chances that you will all be discovered. The plan is to draw the Sect's attention to the city but not the Clan. That is far more important than any personal gain you may be able to obtain."
So the girl they were talking about was strong. Really strong from the sounds of it. And also from a sect… I couldn't help but think they might be referring to a certain famous ice-themed girl. But that couldn't be right, could it? Why would they want to draw the attention of her sect here? Perhaps it was just someone from the branch sect or another sect altogether?
"I understand that. But it wouldn't just be for my persona—"
"Enough," the middle-aged man said. His voice wasn't loud, but it quieted Yin Tai instantly. "You forget yourself. Do not take my leniency up until now as a sign of your importance. Just like Qian Zhi, you can be replaced."
Then something strange happened. Yin Tai stared at the older man, his eyes widening and his face going pale. Why was he so—
My train of thought was cut off as I felt something. It was a cold feeling that seemed to radiate from the middle-aged man. And it felt terrifying, even from how far I was.
It didn't feel like a spirit sense or anything else I'd felt before. It just felt like a cold dread that encompassed everything. One that I was grateful wasn't right next to me.
Yin Tai's face continued to whiten, and his eyes started to bulge. His mouth opened and closed like he was gasping for air. And for a moment, I thought he might die.
But then it finally ended. The dread receded, and Yin Tai collapsed to the ground, holding his throat.
"Am I understood?" The middle-aged man asked after another moment.
Yin Tai clenched his free hand hard but nodded. He kept his head down after that as he moved back to sit. They stayed in silence until the bald old man finished what he was doing. Then, finally, they all got up to leave. Apparently, they were done here.
I watched them from the corner of my eye, frowning as I processed everything I'd heard. There was a lot to process. And a lot to worry about. But I needed to get back and tell everyone else about this.
And hopefully, neither Jianfeng nor Lin would try and take this opportunity to go for their revenge. Because despite only being Mid Qi-Gathering, I was pretty sure that middle-aged man was not to be messed with. Not if we valued our lives.